Three Great Albums of 2009 (Wiki) | (Last.FM) | (Myspace)
Manners / Avoid The Light / Veckatimest
[2009] | [Frenchkiss Records / Anger Management / Warp]
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8+/10
So once again, Mark and I have found ourselves behind on all the releases we have heard so far this year. It’s not like the two of us brilliant and sexy guys can review every album that allows us inside. No, instead, we pick and choose which albums we feel are the most interesting to write about. Although our ratings seem to be a bit ridiculous with all the “#.#” ratings, we do work hard to bring you the most didactic (my word of the day) and thought provoking album reviews our college minds can come up with. From time to time though, we will miss out on some of this year’s best new music which is why we decided to post some mini reviews every now and then on the albums that are amongst the best so far this year. We hope you enjoy. Good day.
Passion Pit-
Manners
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Passion Pit uses catchy electronic dance beats to captivate listeners into a dream woven fun parade. Manners may not be an innovative record for the electronic indie scene but my God, they are fun to listen to! This debut record explodes with excitement as soon as you start up the first track, “Make Light” and once “Little Secrets”, the second track on the record starts, you’ll be captivated by the clever lyrical composition and fun dance beats. “The Reeling” serves as the biggest standout track on the album, mixing simple house beats with some 80’s pop rhythms and it is bound to get you moving on the dance floor if you weren’t already. Think MGMT on ecstasy and you’ve got Passion Pit!
8.0/10
Long Distance Calling-
Avoid The Light
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2008 seemed to be the year for folk music as artists such as Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Horse Feathers, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Sam Amidon, and The Tallest Man On Earth were only just some, yes, some of the folk artists who released critically acclaimed albums. This year seems to be going in a different direction as post rock and ambient music has taken over. With albums from Mono, Wixel, The Appleseed Cast, Apse, Tortoise, and The Life And Times already being released within the Post Rock guidelines and with much more post rock on the way before year’s end, it’s safe to say that 2009 could shape up to be a post-rock kind of year. Long Distance Calling, a German band with as much potential in their musical abilities as I could even define, have released the best post-rock album so far this year in Avoid The Light. The long compositions on the record, which are all filled with heavy guitar riffs and guitar fills as well as some intense drumming, make this album archaic in the likes of Godspeed You! Black Emperor while it also builds to a hard rocking sensation. The tracks are all well organized and terrifically composed as the band never comes up short on build ups and never run a track too long. It meets all the criteria that makes up a great post-rock album and rather then go the Mono route and bore their listeners to death with everlasting build-ups, Long Distance Calling presents us with intense sound that rattles your brain in a coordinated fashion. The highlight is “The Nearing Grave” which features some guest vocals by Jonas Renkse of the band Katatonia. This album could be a hidden gem this year!
8.1/10
Grizzly Bear-
Veckatimest
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Grizzly Bear have never been your typical folk band. They seem to always march to the beat of their own drum, using experimental aspects in their music production and combining it with simplistic chord structure or repeated chords on piano. Is Grizzly Bear an amazing band in a world full of crowded folk musicians? No, but that’s not knocking them. Grizzly Bear just have a way of silently pushing the limits of the folk genre and fusing it together with many other musical sounds. What’s incredible about Veckatimest is that they do it so simply that it ends up being brilliant at the same time. Just listen to their vocal harmonies or background thunder-like drumming in songs such as “All We Ask”. The shape shifting sounds that protrude from the instruments brings out the loveliness of Daniel Rossen’s lyrics. One thing to note: check out “Two Weeks” and tell me you don’t hear Dr. Dre’s, “Still Dre” in those key notes. I knew you couldn’t! It’s alright though, the song’s still gorgeous and who ever trashed a band for borrowing?
8.8/10
-Eric
04 Jun 09
